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The University of California, Berkeley, has agreed to speed up how long it takes to convert printed materials from its library collections, such as textbooks, into accessible formats for students with disabilities. The plan calls for having timelines for fulfilling requests and offering self-scanning equipment to students. The deal is part of a settlement with Disability Rights Advocates, a nonprofit representing three Berkeley students who said they were unable to obtain assignments in accessible digital formats in a timely manner.

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The Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped features a growing collection of digital-formatted material that can be accessed in various formats for readers with special needs. Along with its effort to convert materials to digital formats, which began three years ago, the library administers the state's accessible-textbook program, converting college textbooks into usable formats for students with disabilities.

All school districts in Iowa have agreed to partner with Bookshare -- a California-based group that offers accessible texts for people with visual or print disabilities -- to provide instructional materials for their students this fall. The partnership will provide Iowa students who have qualifying disabilities with free access to an extensive selection of copyrighted materials in accessible formats that will allow students to complete school assignments in a timely manner.

An Oregon district may have to pay for the private tuition of a student who was never enrolled in special education, but who struggled in school due in part to a marijuana addiction, after a federal appeals court on Monday reversed a lower court's ruling. Educators and psychologists unanimously agreed in 2001 that the student had no learning disabilities, but other specialists later said he had "learning difficulties" and ADHD.

The Wheelchair Apprentice, a program spearheaded by Rowan University junior Erin Gordon, helps university administrators better understand the accessibility issues that students with disabilities face at school.

The San Diego Unified School District, the city public library system and the local business community pitched in more than $70,000 each, so students could have free access to tutor.com, a site that offers homework help from certified tutors.